This article contains details some people may find distressing.
A court in India has sentenced a man to death for burning his wife alive due to her skin color.
Before her death, Lakshmi reported that her husband Kishandas often taunted her for having dark skin.
District Judge Rahul Choudhary in Udaipur justified the death penalty, stating that the murder was a rare and severe crime, as well as a crime against humanity.
Kishandas’s lawyer insists on his innocence and plans to appeal against the sentence.
Lakshmi’s murder, which occurred eight years ago, and the recent verdict have sparked public attention in a country where colorism is prevalent.
The attack on Lakshmi happened on the night of June 24, 2017, according to court documents.
Before her death, Lakshmi reported to authorities, doctors, and an executive magistrate that her husband frequently called her names like “kali” and body-shamed her since their marriage in 2016.
On the night of her death, Kishandas brought a plastic bottle with a brown liquid, claiming it was a skin-lightening medicine. He applied it to her body, and when she complained about the smell resembling acid, he set her on fire with an incense stick and ran away.
Lakshmi’s family took her to the hospital, where she later died.
Judge Choudhary stated in his order, “This heartbreaking and brutal crime was not only against Lakshmi but against humanity itself.”
Kishandas broke her trust and displayed excessive cruelty by throwing the remaining liquid on her as she burned.
In his order, the judge added that this crime shocked humanity’s conscience and could not be conceived in a healthy society.
Public prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal called the sentence historic and hoped it would serve as a deterrent.
“If we don’t protect our daughters, who will?” Paliwal questioned, emphasizing that the convict had 30 days to appeal.
Kishandas’s lawyer, Surendra Kumar Menariya, insisted that Lakshmi’s death was an accident and claimed that there was no evidence against his client, who was falsely accused.
The Udaipur court’s decision has once again highlighted India’s preference for fair skin.
Girls and women with darker skin tones face derogatory names, prejudice, and are often discriminated against, while skin-lightening products generate significant earnings.
Matrimonial columns frequently emphasize skin color, with lighter-skinned brides being more desirable.
The BBC has previously reported cases of women committing suicide after being taunted by their husbands over their “dark complexion.”
Despite campaigns challenging the notion that fairer skin is better, deeply ingrained prejudices persist, resulting in the ruining of lives.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyryrwwdj7o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
